Dame Helen Mirren was desperate for Vin Diesel role

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Dame Helen Mirren "threatened" to beat Vin Diesel up if he didn’t give her a role in ‘Fast and Furious’.

The 49-year-old actor has quipped that the 71-year-old actress would have done anything to get a role in the popular film franchise.

He explained to #legend magazine: "You know, the term action star is a relatively new concept in the history of cinema. Clark Gable in ‘Gone With The Wind’ was not an action star, although he was riding a wagon with fire blazing all around him. Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One’ might be considered an action star. I wasn’t really ever conscious of it. I’ve always approached my career with the same conviction and I think that’s the hidden asset in the Fast saga.

"That’s probably why all these Oscar-winning actors have wanted to join the cast and be part of the mythology. Charlize Theron is in it. Helen Mirren, the wonderful and amazing Helen Mirren, accosted me at a Golden Globes party and basically threatened to beat me up if she wasn’t going to be in one. Having these actors on the films was adding another element and dimension to what some might write off as just another action movie."

It comes after Helen admitted she was "very nervous" about starring in ‘Fast and Furious 8’.

She explained: "I’m very nervous because when you’re going on to a set with people who have been doing this for (so long), basically, they all know each other.

"They’ve worked together; they know what they’re doing. I’ll be, you know, the newcomer, the newbie. I think they’ll be nice to me. I hope they’ll be nice to me … I’ve only got one day, and I’ll probably f**k it up, oh God!"